


Gwylin's Tales: We Sail Free

by Narqelion_Fading_Fire



Series: Salty Crew [2]
Category: Dead men tell no tales, Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:49:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21676297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narqelion_Fading_Fire/pseuds/Narqelion_Fading_Fire
Summary: Gwylin and her crew stumble across some unexpected cargo, and set things right before setting out for revenge.
Series: Salty Crew [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1562611
Kudos: 2





	Gwylin's Tales: We Sail Free

**Author's Note:**

> Gwylin Hayes is my D&D character from Dead Men Tell No Tales, A D&D campaign streamed on Twitch. Based on the Ghosts of Saltmarsh module. Catch us on https://www.twitch.tv/wearenerdsmith Friday nights at 10:30pm EST.
> 
> This is part of my character's backstory.  
> *May contain minor spoilers*

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Vered muttered under his breath.

Gwylin stood rigidly beside him, looking down into the hold of the small ship at the “cargo” they were supposed to be moving. “When I get my hands on that thrice-”

Zamir coughed pointedly, and nodded at Saoirse.

“-barnacled piece of…”

Saoise rolled her eyes. “I’m 97-and-a-half. I’ve heard people curse before.”

“Father said not to teach you our bad habits.” Zamir responded calmly.

“I don’t think he meant swearing-” Saoirse countered.

“Of…” Gwylin faltered.

“Rancid sharkbait?” Vered suggested.

“Of rancid sharkbait! I’ll string him up by his-” She paused, glancing between her siblings, and seeing Zamir’s raised eyebrows. “-...toes.” She finished, trying to look as though that was what she’d meant to say all along. Judging by Vered’s snicker, she wasn’t very convincing.

“A moment please, while my associates and I confer.” Gwylin said with a forced smile at the people below, before dropping the hatch.

Saoise spoke up instantly. “We’re not slave traders. We can’t just deliver these people, like they’re some kind of trade goods!” 

Vered held up his hands, “I’m not disagreeing, but what are we going to do with them?”

“We shouldn’t be doing anything with them!” Saoirse half-shouted. “Why did you agree to take this job??”

“Because if we leave them here and refuse the job, then someone else will just do the job in our place.” Gwylin answered, glaring at the closed hatch. “This way, we can help them.”

“How?? Where are we going to take them? If we pull into port with a cargo full of people, our reputation as decent traders is shot!”

“Our false reputation.” Vered muttered under his breath.

Saoirse ignored him. “And if we just leave them somewhere, then they’ll probably be killed by local wildlife, or caught again!” 

Zamir put a large hand on Saoirse’s shoulder. “Calm, little sister. Few things are solved by yelling. Let Gwyl think. We have a while yet before we reach the next port.”

Saoirse huffed.

“I may know someone who can help…” Gwylin said thoughtfully.

“Know, or know?” Vered asked, tipping his head slightly.

“Who?” Zamir asked. “Another smuggler? Are you sure we can trust them?”

“No, and no. But we’re about to find out.” She grinned.

“But know or know?” Vered repeated.

“Shush, you.” Gwylin waved him off, reopening the hatch. “Right. Hello, again, and thank you for sailing with us today. Are any of you fugitives that will be easily recognized by port authorities? No? Excellent! We’ll have you on your way to freedom shortly, with as little fuss as possible.”

“You’re freeing us?” Asked one of the voices below deck.

“Of course. We’re smugglers, not monsters.”

“Where are you taking us?”

“Just outside one of the quieter port cities. Where you will wait with my crew while I contact an...associate of mine, who can smuggle you into the city, and either back to your home or somewhere else that’s safe.”

“Where is somewhere safe?” Countered one of the soon to be ex-slaves.

Gwylin’s confident smile faltered slightly. “I...don’t know? Perhaps some of you would like to find gainful employment within the city?”

“What if some of us are fugitives, and don’t want to stay in the city?” Countered another voice from below.

“I did ask about that.” She pointed out.

“You said “Recognizable” fugitives.”

“So I did. Then perhaps you would like to find gainful employment as a smuggler? Our operation is always looking to expand.” Gwylin offered, with a winning smile.

“...What were my other options?”

“Think on it.” She dropped the hatch again, and called up to the helm. “Ayanna! Sail us two more ports south, and dock us in that rocky inlet a few miles from town.”

“Aye.” Ayanna called back calmly. 

“Once we’ve docked, I’ll go collect Farrin-”

“Wait. Farrin, as in the captain of the guard Farrin??” Saoirse demanded, as Ayanna adjusted their course.

“Yes. You’ll leave them at the rendezvous point, and I’ll send him there, then we’ll track down-”

“Why are we bringing a guard captain into this??” Saoirse demanded, looking horrified.

“Because, he’s anti-slavery, and he can help us get these people to safety.” Gwylin explained, as if this were perfectly obvious. 

“And he’s not going to just, I don’t know, arrest us for conspiracy???”

“Of course not, he hasn’t yet.”

“What do you mean he hasn’t yet??”

“He’s helped us several times before, and while he always says it’s the last time, he never-”

“He WHAT???”

“Ah, family..” Zamir murmured, patting Saoirse on the shoulder.

“You dated him, didn’t you?” Asked Vered, who’d been studying her while the sisters argued.

“We went out a few times.” Gwylin admitted. “He was very nice. Charming, even.”

Saoirse covered her horrified face with both hands. “Oh my-”

“Language.” Zamir reminded her gently.

“-COD!” Saoirse half shouted.

“Oh come on, Saoirse. We just had dinner and talked. He didn’t know I was a smuggler at the time. We broke it off, once he spotted me on the job.” 

“He saw you??”

Gwylin waved her hand dismissively, “Petty crime. We were helping out the town by avoiding the tariff fees on some basic goods. He didn’t feel right about us dating though, given his position, so we broke it off.”

“But he knows-”

“He suspects. He can’t prove anything worse than avoiding a few tariff fees, and he’s not going to report us for that. Plenty of regular merchants try to do that, we’re just considerably better at it.”

Saoirse groaned. “Why do you have to date people who want to arrest or kill us?”

“You have met me, right? If I didn’t include them, my dating pool would be severely limited.” Gwylin said, grinning. 

“I can think of one or two…” Vered murmured.

Zamir gave him a quelling look, over his sister’s heads. “Do we have a plan for dealing with the people who sold them?” He gestured at the ship behind them, that they were fast pulling away from.

“Ah, yes. As soon as we’re about, we sink them.” She turned to Vered as she readied the nearest cannon, “If you don’t mind?”

“With pleasure.” His eyes clouded over slightly, glowing from some internal light. As he raised his arms, the familiar static feel of his magic filled the air, and a dense fog rose from the sea, surrounding the enemy ship.

“Aim while you can still see their hull.” Gwylin advised, as Zamir hurried to the other portside cannon.

“Aye. You’ll be aiming for the mast?”

There were faint cries from the other ship as the fog rose around them.

“Naturally.”

Two well aimed shots later, and the small vessel was stranded, her crew panicking and unable to retaliate in the fog.

“Now then, let’s free us some slaves, shall we?”

___________________

Making their way through the crowded streets of the harbor town, Gwylin soon spotted a tall, lightly armored, gold Tiefling, with an athletic build, his long chocolate hair, pulled into an elegant side braid. He was speaking to several guards. 

She leaned against a nearby wall, waiting for him to finish his conversation. The less people who saw them talking, the better.

“Is that him?” Vered whispered, leaning against the wall next to her.

“Yep.”

He clicked his tongue, eyes still on the Tiefling. “No guard should be that good looking. His hair alone should be a crime.”

“Right?” Seeing the guards step away, she whistled, causing their quarry to turn around. “Hello, Farrin! Did you miss me?” She asked with a wink and a grin.

“Oh no.” The handsome man’s face fell as he saw her. 

“Is that any way to greet an old friend?”  
He sighed, stepping closer. “What is it this time, Gwylin?”

“Not even a hello?”

He closed his eyes briefly, looking tired. “Hello, Gwylin. What do you want this time?”

“I’m fine, thank you for asking.”

“Gwylin-”

“I need your help.”

“No. I can’t keep helping you. I told you, you’re amazing, but I will not be a part of any more of your schemes. I’m Captain. I need to set a good example.” He said, lowering his voice.

“I need you to un-smuggle some ex-slaves.” She said matter-of-factly, lowering her voice as well.

“...you what?”

“We uncovered a small slave trade opperation, and we’re trying to get the people to safety. They assured me that most of them aren’t fugitives.”

Farrin pinched the bridge of his nose, looking older and more tired with her every word. “Gwylin…”

“You’d be helping people. That’s your job, right? I’m just a random good citizen who happened to overhear a few things, and you’re checking out a lead. It’ll be simple.”

“How many are there?” He asked, eyes still closed.

“Like, 15 I think?”

He opened one eye to stare at her. “You’re not sure?”

“Some of them would prefer a less gainful means of employment-”

He held up his hands, “Nevermind. I don’t need to know details. I don’t want to know the details.”

“You did ask.” She pointed out.

“I know.” He sighed again. “I never learn.”

Gwylin and Vered waited silently, while Farrin had his internal crisis.

Finally, his shoulders slumped. “Where are they?”

“Ha! I knew we could count on you! They’re outside of town. Even I’d have trouble smuggling 15 people into town. It’s the chains, really. They’re hard to hide, and we couldn’t get them all off.”

“I don’t want to know. Where did you get them from, did you get any names?”

“I got better than that.” She handed him a small piece of paper, with several names. “I wrote the location where we left the ship on the left, the slaves are the location on the right. The ship won’t get far, it seems to have lost its mast.”

“And the people they were supposed to be taken to?”

She blinked innocently. “I have no idea, officer. I didn’t hear anything about that.”

“Gwylin.” He frowned at her.

“Don’t worry about them.”

“Gwylin. They’re part of this conspiracy, I need to know-”

“You won’t have to worry about them. Once I get my hands on their leader, there won’t be enough left for you to arrest.”

“No! This kind of thing needs to be handled properly, you can’t just-”

She stepped forward, and kissed him on the cheek, before turning to walk away. “Thank you for your help, Farrin! It was good to see you again!”

“Gwylin!”

“Go do your job and rescue people. Good day, Captain!” She hurried her pace, pushing Vered ahead of her.

“I think that went well.” Vered said, chuckling as they broke into a run.

“Me too!” Gwylin’s face broke into a wide grin. “Now let’s go catch us some slaver scum!”


End file.
